Marc's email 8/30/2011

Alright well this email is going to be quick cause I dont seem to have
any time. Today we went to the temple so yesterday we didnt have the
Pday. That is why I am writing today. The temple was awesome today and
I got the opportunindad to do my first session in spanish. It was so
nice to just be able to think of the Lord in His house and listen to
the promptings of the spirit. It is exactly what I needed at this
point in the mission. A little bit about the area. I got another new
companion named elder Avila and he is pretty tight. We had special
changes and so buckwheat got transfered out and I got him. He is
pretty dead and I know the Pres. stuck me with him so he didnt start
wasting his time. We are working hard though and teaching a lot of
people. The Lord has finally started to bless us with a ton of new
people that actually want to listen tho this lesson so i am way hapy.
After 9 weeks of straight looking and knocking doors we are finally
seeing the blessings. I know that the Lord alwsays blesses us after
the trials of our fiaaith. That is what He was doing to me and I am so
grateful for the trials He always gives me. That is when I feel like I
am a real representative of His Son. This next week I will give you
fmore details cause right now i have to plan the district class and
still have a ton of stuff I have to do. I love you mom and dad and
family and hope you have a great week.Thank you for all of your
prayers on my behalf. thank you for everything. ç
elder Burr

Matt's email 8/29/2011

This week was just a great one. We started out by sending off some of the old guys which was great. It is awkward, however, sitting with all of them in the house of President and his family as they all eat their last dinner and share their final testimonies here in Argentina. It's..... different, but it makes me want to work just that much harder for the time that I have here. I don't know if I have told you, but the two assistants that I am with are both leaving at the end of this transfer so I pretty much have to figure out all this business before they pack up their bags and head out. There is a lot to learn, but it all comes by grabbing the bull by the horns. This week I also had the awesome opportunity to go for a drive with President Avila and show him nascar moves. I was more nervous for that drive than I was for my test flight with that wonderfull FAA woman, but President gave me the ok which means that I can now drive here in Argentina. It's going to be different because nobody here has ever learned how to drive and they all do whatever they want, but we will see how it all goes. Good thing the seat belts work good right?

This weekend was awesome. Elder Harvey and I were out looking up inactive members with the ward list and we came across a family that hadn't been to church in a really long time. At first they didn't want to let us in, but after some salesman technique, they finally let us in and we saw why they were so reluctant. On the table they had a huge bottle of beer and cigarrettes were littering the floor. It really was an aweful sight to see what they had done with the covenant that they had made with God at baptism, but for that reason Jesus suffered all they he did, so that we could be forgiven of our mistakes. We left them with a little message and said we were going to pass by on saturday again to meet the kids that aren't baptized. We showed up on Saturday and had a great lesson with all of them then committed ourselves to bringing waffles yesterday morning to help them come to church. We showed up at 8 with the waffles and they were all waiting for us, ready to eat some fantastic waffles! It was seriously a little miracle that we were able to see. We showed up to church and met up with some other great investigators that we had there and it turned out to be a great meeting, which is always a sigh of relief. So despite all the added responsibility, I just want to say that all is going well and the work hasn't stopped. I love this work. I think I have become addicted to knocking doors and being in awkward situations, but it's a great addiction right?

Marc's email 8/22/2011

Hello Mother it is just me checkin it again and stuff. I will start
out with a summary of my week. Well it started out with us finding a
tight family that has accepted us really well. The mom is named
genoveva and she has two kids. She told us she has been praying lately
and asking for a miracle and when we showed up she knew that miracle
had been fulfilled. She has had many trials in her life but she is
willing to change and do the things the Lord wants her to do. We found
her contacting so that is a miracle in and of itself. I am way happy
to have found her and I know this is a blessing for the hard work and
sacrifice we have put in. Also this week we had the zone conference
which was way good. It started out with the hermana talking for an
hour about how we need to take care of ourselves and start out every
day with some fruit. She explained that before eating anything we
should eat the fruits and veggies first then the real food. Then she
made us all put our hands on the table so she could check our
fingernails.... i think she was making sure we cut them or something.
Then she kept going on about how to do laundry and a whole bunch of
stuff like that. I was pretty bored to be honest haha but then the
Pres talked about trust in the Lord and some of the goals we have. We
have some high goals but also some high promises so I know that the
Lord will help us. Then after everything he pulled me aside and moved
me up to district leader so I am pretty stoked about all of this.
Elder Black from Mapleton is in my district and the district is pretty
tight. There is only one district in the zone so I am also pretty much
zone leader. I know that this is my chance that I have to show the
Lord my true dedication and love. Overall this week was way good. We
have just been working hard and trying to find people. We have seen
many miracles and have had many people tell us that we have something
different. Although they dont want to change I know I represent my
Saviour Jesus Christ. I know all He wanted to do was teach people the
Gospel and even He had people reject Him. I cant complain, I am in the
work of the Lord. I love my calling and I love all of you. Mom and Dad
I hope you have fun in Powell just sittin. Other family members that
are too busy to write me I hope you are all keepin it real and working
hard. I hope everybody is enjoying life and always remembering about
our Redeemer who is Jesus Christ. I love Him and all of you. I hope
you all have a great week.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 8/22/2011

Oh don´t you worry, we will have plenty to keep us busy here. This
past week was just full of different events, but it all ended out
great and we got to work in our area for more than half of the week so
it was awesome. The area that we are assigned to is just a gold mine.
We have found some great people this week and many of them made the
leap of faith by coming to church. There are great members here that
are so excited for the missionarywork. I honestly get more excited for
being in such a great area than I do for being here with President. I
have come to know of the love that he has for this mission and the
excitement that he carries for us. He really is such a great man and
his heart is huge. While we were at the airport waiting for the new
missionaries, he decided to buy us whatever we wanted at the
restaurant in the airport. Everything was super expensive, but the
price just didn´t matter to him. He reminds me a lot of you mom and
dad and that love that you always had for me as your little boy. You
are such awesome examples for me.
I am having such a fun time here on the mission. Everyday I just go
out and have a blast and I absolutely love it. Today for P day we went
to the zoo just me and two other companions. It was just the 3 of us
dressed in suits, but it was still hilarious. I have learned how to
make every moment into the best moment. There have been times where I
have wanted to just kill something, but I have always tried to be
positive and happy and it has always worked out for the best.
I heard a quote that hit me really hard this week. The is not a higher
place on this planet than being on your knees praying to God. I am so
thankful for the power of prayer and the consolation that it brings
into my life and the life of our investigators. I have seen grown men
brought to tears by the miraculous power of prayer and have realized
that God really is the Master of all and that we are his finest
creations. I just want you to know that I love you all and I am
continually taken away by your amazing faith and support on my behalf.
I know I leave some of you hangin on the email replies, but please
forgive me and know that I am doing great and I am happier than I have
ever been!

Marc's email 8/15/2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! In a few days anyway. I dont know if you have
forgotten about your birthday cause you have been so busy but your
bday is just around the corner. The big 50... Thats not too young by
the way. Its alright everybody has to reach that point in their life.
This week was another good week here in Guady. Elder
Carrasco got sent home 4 weeks early so now Elder Martinez and I are
just kickin it. We contacted over 180 people this last week and really
didnt find any new people to teach. It is a struggle here in Estancia
but we are looking and putting our trust and faith in the Lord and I
know we will find some families soon. This message is just too
important to deny and it will touch the hearts of the people that the
Lord has prepared. As His missionary I just need to stay obedient and
work as hard as I know how and I know He will bless me with success.
This week I read a tight little story type thing and it has made me
think alot. I am going to summarize it a little bit. So it talks about
his guy that enters into a file room. He sees a wall that is
completely filled with file cabinets and he starts pulling out the
file cabinets. He opened the one titled "Girls I have liked" and
started reading the names. He realized that he knew every girl and
then realized he was in the file room of his life. He later saw the
file titled "Lies I have told", " People I have disrespected" and many
other files. He also reads the file named "People I have shared the
Gospel with". He starts reading the files and starts feeling the
regret and remorse of all of the things this man has done in his life.
He pulls out the files and tries to tear them in half but realizes he
cant. He then realizes that the files are written with exact details
in the mans own hand writing. At the bottom of every card is his
signature. He starts feeling embarrassed and sad and when He looks up
he sees the Savior. The Savior also has a face of agony, pain,
sadness, but love. He gives the man a hug and takes all of the cards.
The man pleads with Him to leave him alone for the feelings he is
feeling. The Saviour, in His infinate love, takes every card and signs
His signature in blood over the mans signature. The man leaves the
room and realizes the door does not have a lock on it. It doesnt have
a lock because the man still has to live his life. I learned so much
through this story and have thought about my own life. I hope you can
all think about your "File room" and the things that are written on
your cards. The Saviour has paid the price for the remission of our
sins but we must plead forgiveness. He has bled for me so that I might
be cleansed from sin and He is always waiting for us to return to Him.
His arms of mercy are always extended towards those who are willing to
change and those who want to come unto Him. This is the love that He
has for us. I have felt this love so much in my mission and cant deny
that He lives. No I have not seen Him but I have heard Him and I have
felt His presence. I know He lives and I know He loves us. I hope you
never forget the life a man that lived so perfectly. I love Him and
know that I am helping Him in the vineyard. I am so grateful for the
church that He put on this earth and for the plan that He has for us.
My only hope in this life is to be able to return to Him together with
my loved ones. I hope all is well back at home and that you are all
living the dream. I am loving it out here and wouldnt want to be
anywhere else. I love you all and will talk to you next week. Peace out.
Elder Burr

Matt's email 8/15/2011

So this week was one full of surprises and new beginnings. I will have to tell it all very short because we are about to leave and go to President´s house to eat dinner with all the old missionaries but pretty much I got a call on Friday from President Avila telling me that he wanted me to be the next assistant in the mission. At first I didn´t believe him, but he then told me I had about an hour to get all my bags ready and start heading to mendoza in the mission car. So pretty much I left a bunch of work in Amppya and headed down to mendoza to start another page of my mission. On saturday we had to do transfers, which was just an adventure, and today we are calling all the zone leaders to let them know. Tomorrow we are going to receive like 18 new missionaries which means we will have training meetings and airport runs and interviews with president and all that good stuff... It is going to be a lot of work, but I am loving it so far. We have an area that we work in that is a gold mine and in just 1 day of work we have found some great people to work on towards baptism. I am so grateful for this new opportunity to serve the Lord in Mendoza and I will do my best to serve Him with all my heart might mind and strength. Hopefully next week I have some more time to write and fill you all in. I love you all and hope you all have a splendid week!! You are all my heroes!!

Marc's email 8/8/2011

Hey mom garbage taker downer lady how are you? Just your boy elder Burr checkin in from Guady leanin like a cholo. It sounds like your week last week was a tight one. Did you ever have a headache and want to run away? How are Ben and Olivia and their family doing/ How is cam liking St George? That is a lot of news from the ward and I cant believe that the Hansen triplets finished their mission already. That flew by. Matt will be home tomorrow at this rate and I might be home the next day. It is unreal. It also sounds like the shopping days for you might get a little better with the blessings you and dad are raking in. Dont spend all of those benjamins on stupid stuff. Remember to save some for my lazer hair removal. That is awesome though that we are receiving those blessings. We all know why, when we are out here building the Lords Kingdom, He always helps us build ours. Just remember that pride comes with money so dont let that get out of hand. A little bit about the week we had. Elder Carrasco and I just worked like Mexicans here trying to find people to teach and to baptize. It is hard cause the people are too lazy to come to the door so they just talk to us through their doorbell/camera/microphone thing and tell us no. It is pretty discouraging but I know the Lord is going to help us this week. We are going to baptize Liliana this week but she needs your prayers. She wants to get baptized but her husband is just an alcoholic that is always saying he doesnt believe it and he will never pay tithing and the church is just a business. On top of that she has the TJ's going over there saying that the prophet gets paid. I hate the JW's they are so annoying. They are like the fly that is always landing on and getting in your eyes when you are trying to work. I dont know why the Lord just doesnt destroy all of them in their wickedness so they can stop bugging us! ITs alright though the Spirit of the Lord is always with us and that is all we need. Also this week we have a kid that is going to be with us all day everyday cause he wants to do everything we do for a week. We will see if he doesnt start complaining tomorrow from blisters on his feet. Well everything here is going really well. I know this is the Lords work and He is blessing all of us. I know this church is true and it is the only true church. I love my Savior and everything He did for me. I cant wait for the day that I enter His presence to live with Him and my family forever. I love all of you and hope you can all feel the Saviours love this week. I feel His presence every moment and I love it. Well I am out until next week. I love you all
Elder Burr

Matt's email 8/8/2011

This week went by incredibly fast! On thursday we had the opportunity to listen to President Avila speak at our zone conference and he blew me away once again with his knowledge of the scriptures. He started out by talking about the life of the savior. We all know the miracles that he performed and the importance of the example that He left for us to follow, but he opened up my eyes to a whole new perspective. The Savior had come to earth, lived a 3 year ministry, performed countless miracles, was persecuted, was hit, was beat, was wrongly accused, was crucified next to two true villains, was resurrected the third day from a sealed tomb, prepared the spirit world for the preaching of the gospel, visited the americas, visited with His apostles for 40 days and what were his last words to the Apostles as he was about to ascend up to the Father. They are found in the last 2 scriptures of the book of Matthew. ¨Por tanto, id, y haced discípulos a todas las naciones, bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo; enseñandoles que guarden todas las cosas que os he mandado; y he aquí yo estoy con vosotros todos los días, hasta el fin del mundo. Amen¨ Sorry I only have it in spanish, but the last commandment He leaves them is to go out and teach to baptize! The Savior, upon leaving this world commanded his disciples to baptize and to teach the children of God to obey ALL things. What an incredible commandment, no? What a powerful farewell and what a sensational work. I am so happy to be involved in such a great work, and I know that if I fulfill with my calling, I will have the Savior at my side until the end of the world. We also talked a lot about the importance of believing and doing things the Lord´s way. That is a lesson for another time. I sent it to dad, but it was something that just blew my mind and made me so grateful for President Avila. He is definitely different than President Lindahl, but God made us all different so that we could learn to be united.
We also had the opportunity to meet a fantastic investigator named Gian. He is an 18 year old kid that lost his mom, his dad lives in Mendoza, his older brother hates him, and he is alone in the house with his two younger brother and sister. He is confused about religion and doesn´t know what church is going to save him... Sound a little familiar? We taught him a powerful lesson of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration and I then went with a kid from the ward to go look for him yesterday morning. There he was dressed all up in white shirt and pants waiting for us. He came to church and loved it. He has been a tender mercy from the Lord and I can see him being out in a little over a year serving a faithful mission. The kid is incredible.
I love you all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Audrey, Ashley, Cam, Mom, uhhhhhhh Olivia last month, Heather in a few months, Grandma Dewolf in March... I hope I haven´t left too many out. If I did, I am very sorry. I love you all and know that this work is the best work going on in all the world

Matt's email 8/1/2011

So this week was one for the record books. We spent last Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Mendoza listening to President Avila and the assistants talk to us about how we are going to better the mission. On Monday we all got together as leaders and spent the afternoon playing soccer and then having a spiritual discussion about the mission of Alma and Amulek. I learned so much about how I can better myself as a missionary and this week I have been applying all that I have learned to my daily life. I have started seeing miracles. On Tuesday we heard from President as he also opened up the scriptures to us and showed us the life of Mormon, Moroni and Teancum. Those three men were amazing leaders and there is a ton that can be learned from them. The most important principle is leading by an example. In order to lead, one needs to be humble, serious, loving and virtuous. Anybody could say harsh words and get mad at somebody for not doing a good job, but a leader takes that person under his wing and lets him feel the love. Then on Wednesday we spent the morning working on visa problems so that we could be legal here another year. That was just about one of the biggest headaches I have ever had, but we got it all over with and now I am legal again so life is good. I also got this stuff injected into those scars I have on my back from getting those moles removed. That cream wasn´t doing anything so the mission nurse just hooked my up with some shots. It seems to be working a lot better. They seem to be going down, so all is well.
This weekend was amazing and I was able to see the hand of God as he helped us reach our goals. I know that He lives and helps His servants that dedicate their lives to Him. He will never let one of His faithful sons or daughters fall. We always have to strive to be worthy of His helping hand and we always have to excercise the faith necessary for Him to perform miracles in our lives. I love Him and I love all of you!
Elder Burr

Marc's email 8/1/2011

Hey mom garbage taker downer lady how are you? Just your boy elder Burr checkin in from Guady leanin like a cholo. It sounds like your week last week was a tight one. Did you ever have a headache and want to run away? How are Ben and Olivia and their family doing/ How is cam liking St George? That is a lot of news from the ward and I cant believe that the Hansen triplets finished their mission already. That flew by. Matt will be home tomorrow at this rate and I might be home the next day. It is unreal. It also sounds like the shopping days for you might get a little better with the blessings you and dad are raking in. Dont spend all of those benjamins on stupid stuff. Remember to save some for my lazer hair removal. That is awesome though that we are receiving those blessings. We all know why, when we are out here building the Lords Kingdom, He always helps us build ours. Just remember that pride comes with money so dont let that get out of hand. A little bit about the week we had. Elder Carrasco and I just worked like Mexicans here trying to find people to teach and to baptize. It is hard cause the people are too lazy to come to the door so they just talk to us through their doorbell/camera/microphone thing and tell us no. It is pretty discouraging but I know the Lord is going to help us this week. We are going to baptize Liliana this week but she needs your prayers. She wants to get baptized but her husband is just an alcoholic that is always saying he doesnt believe it and he will never pay tithing and the church is just a business. On top of that she has the TJ's going over there saying that the prophet gets paid. I hate the JW's they are so annoying. They are like the fly that is always landing on and getting in your eyes when you are trying to work. I dont know why the Lord just doesnt destroy all of them in their wickedness so they can stop bugging us! ITs alright though the Spirit of the Lord is always with us and that is all we need. Also this week we have a kid that is going to be with us all day everyday cause he wants to do everything we do for a week. We will see if he doesnt start complaining tomorrow from blisters on his feet. Well everything here is going really well. I know this is the Lords work and He is blessing all of us. I know this church is true and it is the only true church. I love my Savior and everything He did for me. I cant wait for the day that I enter His presence to live with Him and my family forever. I love all of you and hope you can all feel the Saviours love this week. I feel His presence every moment and I love it. Well I am out until next week. I love you all
Elder Burr

Marc's email 7/25/2011

Hey mom how are you? Just so you know I bought a tight watch from sears cause my other one started smelling like you know what and it was broken and ugly. In best buy I picked up a voice recorder for Elder Black cause he wanted it so he gave me the money after. It was just one of those times where I felt the need to spend some money. You know the feeling that you always feel?? Im sure you understand me. Well a little bit about this week. Tuesday we had interviews and they went really well. President was impressed by the way we taught and he really liked the way we worked together. He apparently saw a strength in me and the Wednesdy we had special changes. He put me with Elder Carrasco who is going home next change and President know I wont let him do stupid stuff his last change. This is the first time Pres has actually placed me with some challenge so it is really nice. I assure you there wont be any problems here with missionaries that dont work their last change. This week the two baptisms that we had fell and one of them rejected us pretty bad. It was way sad cause we had like 4 weeks teaching them but as we walked away I felt a little bit of how the Savior felt when all He wanted to do was help and all the people rejected Him. I guess thats what I get for praying for more patience. But we had 6 new people in the church that loved it so we will see how this week goes with them. I am abut ready to baptize someone again it has been way too long. Yesterday in our meal we ate beef ribs and mashed potatoes that were so good. It has been 10 months since I have tasted something as good as that so that was also nice. Mom just so you know a little bit about the president. He isnt a man of many words. He is really serious but he cares alot about us and wants us all to gain a personal testimony. That is why he is always so hard on us. I have really changed my thoughts on him and he is a great man just a little hard to understand. His name is Pres. Saucedo. Where is Tommy going again and when does Josh Stephan leave? How is Vanessa doing with the married lifestyle and how is Jake doing. How is the family and stuff. Does tommy leave this week. And JJ Burr? Well Mom thats about it for this week. I know this work is real and I know I am working for the Lord. I know that He is my Savior and that we can live with Them again. I love you mom and am so grateful for you and your hard work. I hope you al have a great week. Im out!
Elder Burr

Matt's email 7/25/2011

Well it´s good to hear that everyone has at least been keeping busy. I´m glad that you are all finding joy in working and hope that the work never takes priority over God. That was the huge lesson that I learned this week. It is impossible for somebody to be truly happy if they put their work over their belief in God. It is sad how many people do it and how many blessing they are losing, but for that reason God calls missionaries.
This week was a pretty good one. We have found many new families and the best part is that there is a dad. They are steadily progressing but they will take a little longer to make it to baptism. One of them is the Ceballos family. They are a married couple with their 6 children, all but one of baptism age. The dad really likes the lessons and has a lot of interest in the church. His wife is one of those wifes that doesn´t really know what is going on. It is obviously that she became a mom way too early and missed out on some of the most important lessons of childhood, but she also likes the church and really wants her kids to be happy. We also found another woman who started out listening to the JW´s, but then we came in and she has now been rejecting them. She was in the hospital all weekend with her kid and unfortunately we couldn´t go see her. She is always asking her mom about us and is also really interested in the church. Then we have good ol Wilson. This kid is just a miracle. He is super excited to get married at the end of September and to make things even better, Elder Huntington and I are the best friends of their 2 year old daughter Briana. She is always asking wilson and mariela when we are going to come over so that she can say a pray. She never lets a meal go by where they don´t offer a prayer. She is the cutest little girl and is evidence of the purity that is found in little kids. She loves Elder Hutnington and I, which makes it just that much better.
The mission is going great. The people here in Argentina are awesome and are such great tools for growth. I have learned something from all of them, even the ones that slam the door in the face. It is a huge blessing being here on the mission and my testimony has grown so much. I know that Joseph Smith really did see what he said he saw. His life is testimony of the great work that he started. I know that the Book of Mormon is the key of our religion and it is an inspired book written by God through the hands of His prophets. Thomas S Monson is infact the prophet of our day. I love my Heavenly Father and know that He loves me. I love all of you and am so proud to call you family. I hope you all have a fantastic week!!
Elder Burr